The oldest girls often carry the heaviest burdens: the ideas of Madagascar

In recent years, the term “eldest girl syndrome” has gained ground on social networks, because many girls who have shared how they had to grow more quickly. They have often assumed roles of care and support in their family.

In high -income countries, Research shows that these responsibilities often provide long -term advantages. The girls of the firstborn – and the sons – tend to have a higher level of education and stronger cognitive skills. They also like better job prospects and wages.

A few studies in low and average income countries positive effects to be the elder. But others found the opposite.

In low -income contexts, economic constraints, cultural practices, such as the involvement of Extended families in children's education– and inheritance standards can produce very different effects.

Our research Bring new ideas by examining these dynamics in Madagascar. It's one of the world poorest countries. The birth order strongly shapes the transition to adulthood, especially for children of firstborns.

Progress in understanding the effects of the birth of birth in low -income countries is retained by the lack of detailed data at the brothers and sisters. Our study used a data set This followed ages from 10 to 22 years old, capturing their transition from adolescence to adulthood. He collected detailed information on education, work, health, marriage and migration. The set of data has also captured key demographic and educational details for all the brothers and sisters for life of each respondent.

We found that the firstborn in Madagascar are going to adulthood earlier than their younger brothers and sisters. They are more likely to leave school early. They enter the labor market earlier and get married at younger ages. For example, the fourth born, the children are 1.5 percentage points less likely than the firstborn to never frequent school, and 1.1 percentage point more likely to complete post-secondary education. Or, third parties are 23% less likely to get married at 19 than the firstborn.

Our results suggest that children born later have a greater parental investment in education. This leads to better schooling and delay in entry into the labor market.

Birth order and transition to adulthood

In Madagascar, early marriage can be a way for families to relieve financial pressure. This is particularly true since girls generally join their husband's house.

Regarding marriage, we note that children born later are less likely to get married early than their firstborne brothers and sisters, especially after 17 years. This trend is valid for boys and girls. The difference appears earlier for girls, who line up with their youngest age at marriage.

Interestingly, the girls of the second birth are not much less likely to get married than their older sisters. This suggests that the eldest girl does not always support the complete weight of early marriage risk. The girls of the firstborn often assume roles of care and households. These responsibilities can slightly delay their marriage, because families count on them for daily support.

What explains these birthday effects?

We have not observed significant differences in cognitive skills (such as reasoning) or non-cognitive traits (such as personality) between the firstborn and their younger brothers and sisters. The cognitive capacities were evaluated by tests of oral and written and French mathematics administered at home. These results contrast with richer countrieswhere the firstborn often surpass their brothers and sisters in cognitive and non-cognitive fields. This can result from a greater early parental investment.

In Madagascar, the development of the child can rely less on the contribution of direct parents and more on interactions within the extended family. This is consistent with the concept of fihavananaA cultural principle that emphasizes solidarity and mutual support within the extended family. Rather than benefiting mainly from parental quality time, children – especially born later – can develop their cognitive and non -cognitive skills through broader social networks. These include parents and older sisters and sisters.

We have also explored if gender preferences could help explain the differences in results. For example, if the children born later were boys disproportionately, it could suggest that the parents continued to have children in the hope of having a son. This could lead to more resources allocated to this boy born later. However, our data shows a uniform distribution of boys and girls among children born later. This suggests that sex -based stop rules are unlikely to explain the models we observe.

Instead, our results indicate that the economic constraints as the main engine of the firstborn transit towards adulthood earlier than their younger brothers and sisters.

In the poorest households, especially in rural areas, the children of the firstborn are often invited to help financially. This is often done at the cost of their own education. Children born later, on the other hand, receive more investments in their education. This can compensate for their limited access to other resources, such as land.

We find no advantage of birth in richer households or among families where parents have a certain education. This again highlights poverty as a key factor shaping these models.

The double burden of being firstborn

To summarize, our research shows that in Madagascar, the first male and female born are faced with an earlier transition to adulthood. They leave school and enter the job market earlier. They get married earlier, although the girls of the firstborn can be at a slightly lower risk of early marriage than their young sisters.

This suggests that, in poor countries, the eldest girl syndrome does not only concern emotional and care responsibilities. It can also be accompanied by fewer education possibilities, greater economic pressure and an end prior to childhood. A real double burden for disadvantaged girls. Economic constraints within households largely explain this model.

But history is not only a constraint. The lack of differences in cognitive and non -cognitive skills suggests that wider, rooted community ties fihavanana And prolonged kinship networks, help to amortize the impact of early responsibility. These collective structures may not erase inequalities, but they offer a vital source of resilience.

While decision -makers and practitioners are looking for ways to promote educational equity, it should be remembered that some of the most neglected compromises occur within households. The reduction in the weight of these compromises – thanks to financial support, community programs or school retention efforts – could help guarantee that the future of a child is not done at the expense of another.

This article is republished from The conversation Under a creative communs license. Read it original article.